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I’ve spent over a decade studying Calvinism and talking to Calvinists. I’ve read books from Calvinists, listened to their debates and sermons, and I’ve watched their videos. I’ve had hundreds (if not thousands) of discussions from Calvinists. I ALREADY KNOW that there will be some Calvinists who will read this blog post and saying, “You obviously don’t understand Calvinism!” or “This is a straw man argument against Calvinism!” or “You are misrepresenting Calvinism!” or “The people you’ve been talking to aren’t the real Calvinists!” I’ve heard these things a million times.

You know what I’ve experienced, though? Most people who I’ve talked to, who call themselves Calvinists, don’t even seem to know what Calvinism is. They probably watched some popular video on YouTube, listen to a popular podcast, read a well-known Calvinist’s books and assume that they are some kind of expert on Calvinism. Then I come along and bring out the TRUTH about Calvinism and what it leads to (“Consistent Calvinism”) and they want to act like I don’t know what I’m talking about.

As a father of 8 children, ranging from 15 years old down to 3 years old, my children are constantly on my mind. I pray for them often, disciple them constantly and spend a lot of time with them (corporately and individually). With all of this in mind, their future is on my mind quite a bit. They are growing up so quickly and I must be mindful of their future and not get “stuck in the moment.”

Of course, my greatest joy would be that they all walk in the truth of God’s Word. I preach the gospel to them consistently and my hope is that they all will become born again at some point in time and walk with God the rest of their lives. Three are currently saved. I appreciate your prayers for them all.

YET, there are practical things that I want for each of them as well. They’re growing up before my eyes and will be adults who are out on their own, quicker than I’d like to imagine. Since I’ve been thinking about this, I thought that I would share this with others. It might help someone else out there! Below is a list of 10 Practical Qualities that I want all of my children to learn from me. Of course, as I said above, first and foremost, I want them all to be successful Christians (in God’s eyes). Yet, I believe that all of these things are important as well.

They’re not in any particular order of importance. They’re all important if you ask me. I’ve been around for over 40 years now and have been a Christian for about 21 of those years. I pray that this list helps you to be a better parent in preparing your children to live in this world! Remember, parents, we aren’t always going to be around. We are raising future adults, not perpetual children!

When I have preached on or taught about the Doctrine of Eternal Hell, one objection I have heard often is this: “How can God send someone to Hell for all eternity for something as small as lying, stealing or lusting? Isn’t that a little harsh? That doesn’t sound like something a loving God would do.” That’s not an EXACT quote, but that’s essentially how the objection goes.

In essence, the people who make these kind of objections are saying that sending someone to an eternity in Hell would be unjust of God to do. BUT, what standard of “justice” are they using to say such a thing? Whatever standard of “justice” we have must be derived from God’s Holy Word. Any other standard of “justice” is simply arbitrary. If our definition of “justice” doesn’t line up with God’s Word we are guilty of idolatry – making up a God who is “just” according to our own arbitrary definition of what “justice” is.

One objection Calvinists often pose to non-Calvinists regarding salvation is the involvement of free will in sinners being converted/made right with God. Calvinists would have you believe that the free will of man has absolutely nothing to do with salvation and that if it did, that the man would automatically be prideful or that salvation would automatically be “works salvation,” instead of “salvation by grace.”

In meditating upon this through the years, I have come up with a parable/analogy to show how silly these objections are. Man choosing to be saved does not mean that he is being prideful, nor does it mean that his salvation is now a “works salvation.” In my opinion, these silly objections simply consist in Calvinists engaging in the redefining of Biblical words. They define the terms in light of their theological system, instead of allowing the true definitions of Biblical words to define their theological system.

BOASTFUL BEACH PARABLE/ANALOGY

Two men were at Boastful Beach one day. They loved the beach, because it fulfilled the “lust of their eyes” as they looked at all the bikini clad women. They were enjoying their day basking in the heat of the sun and getting a tan in order to fuel their own “pride of life.” They both knew that in order to get a “hot girl,” they had to have a tan. One of them began to get a little too warm, so he decided to take a swim in the Sea of Sin.

This the second part of proving the doctrine of Conditional Security, from the Bible. If you want to read Part 1, then GO HERE.Last time, I gave plenty of Scripture showing how someone can TRULY know that they are a Christian. God wants us to have assurance of salvation. He doesn’t want us to be insecure about our salvation. I also posted a video where I talk about a number of passages from the Bible, that emphatically prove the doctrine of Conditional Security.

This time, I want to go through some examples in Scripture where people actually departed from the faith. They either stopped following Jesus while He was still alive or they departed from the faith after Jesus rose from the grave. Either way, these are examples of people “losing their salvation” and therefore are Biblical proof that the doctrine of Conditional Security is true.

The Disciples from John 6

John 6:66: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”

Many DISCIPLES turned back from Him. Keep in mind that in Scripture, “disciple” is synonymous with believer or follower of Christ. One can’t be a “disciple” without being a follower and vice versa. Yet, after a difficult saying from Jesus, these “disciples” ” went back and walked with Him no more.” So, these “disciples” used to “walk with” Jesus and they decided to “go back” or “backslide.” People can twist it any way they like, but the Scripture says what it says.

Many Christians and most Protestants look up to Martin Luther as a “great theologian,” a “great reformer,” and a “hero of the faith” whose writings should be read and quoted. Yet, is he really someone who should be looked up to in such a way? Not according to what I have studied.

Sure, Luther did some good things and had some good things to say. I don’t deny that. Yet, Benny Hinn and the Pope might have good things to say at times as well. Should I then respect them in the same way that many respect Martin Luther? I don’t think so.

Do the good things he said and did automatically do away with the bad? Do we just sweep all of the bad under the rug and consider him some kind of “great Saint,” in spite of all the bad? Well, I’ll let you decide for yourself.

Maybe you’ve never read the below quotes or are ignorant of the bad things he said. Below is a collection of quotes that I have compiled from Luther’s writings. The quotes comes from his books, letters and sermons. You tell me if he should be looked up to in such a way.

Personally, I can’t in good conscience, look up to such a person. Those of you who are reading this who aren’t Calvinists, you really need to reconsider looking up to such a man. I expect this from Calvinists, because it is consistent with their theology, but not from you! Please reconsider promoting such a man or recommending people to read his writings!

Recently, a brother in Christ (and close friend) and I have had an increasing burden to reach out to Muslims more. We have created two gospel tracts in response to this burden. You can find them at the following links:

The second link from above is the most recent one and the subject of this blog post. It focuses on comparing Islam with Christianity on 5 different topics (see below). We basically just gave quotes from the primary source texts from each religion, on these five different topics. Then, at the end of the tract we give a gospel presentation.

These tracts are good for just about anyone. They are good for non-Muslims in order to educate them on the difference between Islam and Christianity. They are good for Christians, to help them understand one of the greatest foes to Christianity at our present time. They are obviously good for Muslims because we want to reach them for Christ’s sake.

Here is the content of the tract, on the five different topics:

Muhammad Was A Sinner
Bukhari 8:319 Narrated by Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying. “By Allah! I ask for forgiveness from Allah and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.”Bukhari 9:482 Narrated by Ibn Abbas: “…O Allah! Forgive me the sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins that I did in secret or in public.”Surah 40:55 “So be patient, surely the promise of Allah is true, and ask forgiveness for your sin and praise with your lord’s praise evening and morning.”Muhammad’s Final Words…